Beriberi, caused by a lack of vitamin B1, is a rare disorder in the United States due to a diverse diet. It was first seen in countries where white rice was a staple and affects the heart and nerves. Thiamine can be added to the diet through fresh fruits and vegetables, legumes, meat, and brown rice. Chronic alcoholics may develop beriberi, and genetic cases are extremely rare. Supplements are usually unnecessary.
Not many vitamin deficiency disorders occur in the United States anymore. For all the flaws in the American diet, most people avoid ailments like scurvy, rickets, and beriberi. Beriberi is the disorder caused by a lack of thiamine, or vitamin B1, in the diet. This vitamin helps convert carbohydrates into energy and aids in heart, muscle and nerve function.
Beriberi has probably been around for millennia, but has only been given a name in the last few hundred years. The name is Sinhala for “I can’t, I can’t”, probably referring to the fatigue and tiredness often experienced by sufferers of this disorder. Two Dutch physicians, Bontius and Nicolaas Tulp, wrote the first clinical descriptions of the disease in 1642. However, it was 200 or more years later that the disorder was recognized as being related to diet.
Beriberi was first seen in Japan and other countries where a diet of white rice was the staple. Polishing the rice husk destroys the B1 component. In that day and age, the poor mixed their rice with barley, and thus escaped beriberi. It was largely a disease of the white rice eating upper class. Asian sailors ate mostly white rice every day and also fell prey to beriberi. It wasn’t until the early 20th century that scientists and doctors realized that beriberi was the result of a vitamin deficiency and was easily treated.
Beriberi comes in two forms, “wet,” which affects the heart, and “dry,” which affects the nerves. Beriberi can cause heart failure and paralysis if left untreated. Luckily, it’s easy to add thiamine to your diet. Consumption of fresh fruits and vegetables, legumes and meat will help prevent the development of the disorder. Vegetarians or vegans can easily add thiamine to their diet by eating brown rice.
Chronic alcoholics sometimes develop beriberi when their liver no longer processes B1. These are the only cases a US doctor will ever see, although the disease may also be genetic. However, genetic beriberi is extremely rare.
Vitamin B1 supplements are available, but with commercially available thiamine-fortified cereals and breads, not to mention the many fruits and vegetables available, supplements are usually unnecessary. Beriberi is a condition that few doctors in developed countries ever treat.
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